Take a Hint
by A Shade of Grey
Summary: Lily is frustrated when James can't take a hint.


_**Disclaimer:** Characters belong to J. K. Rowling. I don't own them in any way, shape, or form._

_**Summary:** Lily is frustrated when James can't take a hint._

**Take a Hint**

Lily Evans couldn't believe her misfortune. In her seventh year of schooling, when she was Head Girl and he was Head Boy, James Potter finally decided to "honor her wishes" by no longer stalking her. The problem? She was starting to actually like him, and she was even considering saying yes the next time her asked her out. She waited, and waited, and waited; James didn't ask her out. It seemed she would have to take matter into her own hands, and the perfect opportunity came while patrolling the school corridors for students out of bed.

"James?" asked Lily.

"Hmm?"

"Next weekend is a Hogsmeade weekend…" Lily trailed off, looking at James rather expectantly.

"I know, and thank Merlin it is. I'm almost out of dung bombs." At Lily's raised eyebrow, James hastily added, "Not that I use them, of course! I just like them for… decoration."

"Right, because they're so pretty," Lily agreed, a hint of a grin crossing her face. "Anyway, I was just wondering if… you're doing anything special for it."

"Not really, just the usual." James shrugged. "Zonkos, Honeydukes, the Three Broomsticks, maybe Hogs Head to try and sneak some firewhi—er, I mean, some water," he corrected himself unconvincingly. "Oh, and the Shrieking Shack. Who doesn't love a nice, haunted house, eh?" A large, and rather mysterious grin settled on James' face, as though he knew something she didn't.

"Yes, those haunted places are great, I love to visit them." Again, Lily looked at James rather expectantly, confusing him greatly.

"Er… Yeah, me too," James said slowly, and Lily huffed softly in annoyance.

"I haven't been there in a while, but it's rather _romantic_, isn't it?"

The emphasis on "romantic" caused James to raise an eyebrow. "Not really; it's supposed to be haunted by vengeful ghosts. That doesn't exactly make people want to snog each other senseless, does it?"

"Romantic doesn't always mean snogging," commented Lily acidly. "Maybe just being with the person one loves is enough to make it romantic."

"I guess… Still, it seems like the type of place to ruin a romantic mood, not create it." Could he be any thicker?

"Well, what is a romantic spot in Hogsmeade, would you say?" There, that was direct and to-the-point.

"Er... Well, there's Madam Puddifoot's—"

"Oh, I should go there soon; I haven't been in such a long, _long_ time."

"But it's all frilly-like and a bit too cramped for my liking. The Three Broomsticks is where people usually go on dates, it's much more casual—"

"I like the Three Broomsticks; Madam Rosmerta makes the most amazing butterbeer. I'd love to go there next weekend, if someone went with me."

"and relaxed, and it's got the best drinks. And, er… there's lots of places… But, don't you already know all this? I mean, you've obviously gone on… on other… dates." The word seemed to cause James great deal of pain to say.

"Oh, those were all very boring, nothing much amounted from them," Lily said casually, waving her hand as if to brush them all away.

"But didn't you date that bloke from Ravenclaw for six months after going to Hogsmeade with him?"

"Well, yeah…" Lily trailed off sheepishly, having forgotten how much James knew about her previous relationships. "But I didn't really like him much."

"Still, he must've taken you to the romantic spots in Hogsmeade," James pressed, frowning slightly.

"A few, yeah." This conversation was not going the way she wanted. Not at all.

"So why are you asking me about them? I'm trying to honor your wish for me to hide my feelings, but that doesn't mean I'm going to talk about you and… other men going on… dates."

"Oh, no, I didn't mean it like that. I haven't been on a date in a while, I was just wondering what people, er… do at Hogsmeade, now-a-days," Lily said lamely.

"You should go to Hogsmeade, then," James told her, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Honestly, as if she hadn't realized that already.

"But who will go with me?" She stared at him expectantly for the third time that night, trying so hard to get him to realize her meaning.

"What about your friends?"

"They've all got… dates and stuff," Lily lied rather unconvincingly, but James seemed to believe her. He frowned thoughtfully for a moment.

"I'd invite you to go with me…" James trailed off, not noticing Lily's hopeful expression, "but, I doubt you'd want to hang around with me, Sirius, Remus, and Peter for an entire afternoon." Lily looked extremely annoyed, which James assumed was because he had mentioned something that, though vaguely, resembled a date between the two of them. "You could always wait until the next Hogsmeade weekend, as they're not nearly as exciting now as they were in third year."

"I could…" It seemed she would have too suck up her pride and do this completely by herself. "Or I guess I could go with you and your friends. One day might not be so bad."

"If you want, but Sirius would want me to warn you that you're not going to be able to stop us from buying anything at Zonko's. We need to stock up on joke stuff, and most of it you aren't likely to approve of."

"Hey, you know what?" asked Lily, as though she had only just now thought of it. "How about Black, Remus, and Peter go off on there own, and you can show me around Hogsmeade by yourself. Your friends can buy you all the stuff you don't want me to know you have, and that way, I won't be able to get mad at you."

"That sounds ama—I mean, great," James said with forced nonchalance. Lily opened her mouth, but James quickly added, "I know, I know. This is strictly a friendship thing, not at all to be mistaken for a date."

A frown settled on Lily's face, and she was silent for a moment, causing James to wonder what he had said wrong. Sighing in obvious annoyance, she muttered, "Did I _say_ this was strictly a friendship thing?"

What? That was definitely not what James Potter had expected. "No, I just assumed—"

"Well don't!" snapped Lily. "Honestly, you are the slowest man I've ever met in my life! You can't take a hint at all!"

"What did I do?"

"You… You… I've been trying all night to get you to ask me out! And then I finally ask _you_, and you say—"

"What?" interrupted James sharply, staring at her in confusion. He must have heard that wrong; Lily would never _want_ to go out with him, not in that sense. "You… what?"

Lily smiled very wide. "I've been trying all night to get you to ask me out. How could you not realize that?" Suddenly, she giggled, the first time she had willingly done so in James' presence. "You didn't really think I really considered the _Shrieking Shack_ romantic, did you?"

"I… I… You…" James seemed at a loss for words, clearly not able to believe what he was hearing. If he needed more convincing, she was more than happy to oblige.

"I've liked you for a while now," Lily whispered, taking a step towards James. He stood there, staring blankly at her, trying to process her revelations. "I was just waiting for you to realize it." Another step. One more. She was right in front of James now, her faces inches from his own. "I guess I have to everything by myself, hm?"

Finally, _finally_, James' brain caught up to Lily's words. "Not everything." Grinning like a fool, he closed the distance between the two of them, capturing Lily's mouth with his own.


End file.
